"Another day of filming, another day of flirting." Yoo Jaesuk used to tease, every time they gathered for their weekly filming of Running Man.  

"Oppa!" Jihyo would whine, and Gary would just smile.    Some days they stood beside each other and played their roles of the monday girlfriend and boyfriend easily, but other days they stood far apart, barely mentioning one another's presence.    The PD said that this would make people anticipate Monday couple moments more, so they agreed to it. After four years, it was easy to see that episodes with those moments received high ratings.   He often wondered if she minded. That their relationship was based purely on scripts and on screen time. She never looked like she did, but it wouldn't hurt to at least hope that she minded.   Ever since she had teased that they were only in a "some" relationship, he was curious if she felt the sparks too. He asked her out once, in their early running man days, when the show was barely afloat and on the verge of being cut out entirely.   She turned him down, of course. Something about 'staying professional' and 'getting closer as a family to make running man a success'.   And then when she revealed that she was dating her CEO, he had back, "What ever happened to staying professional?"   Or when she broke up with that same guy, and he teased again, "Now that we're close like family and the show is a success, will you consider me?"   It was all jokes, no serious moves. He never asked again, but if he had, he wondered if she would agree instead.    This time, it wasn't a Monday, but a Friday. They were holding an emergency meeting, where all the PDs, writers and members gathered to discuss about the recent declining ratings.    She sat on his far right, beside Kwangsoo and Sukjin. Nothing had changed since their last meeting at the CF filming. She was playing with the rim of her coffee (an Americano that he had painstakingly queued up for), a mong look on her face.    He hadn't been listening much since the meeting started, so he figured that he had better start paying attention before Jong Kook, who was on his left, gave him one of his powerful whacks.    "More Monday Couple moments in the preview always gain high ratings. Remember the pepero kiss?" The PD suggested. "We can work out more screen time for Jihyo ssi and Gary ssi or even script a few dialogues here and there."   He was new, because the PDs they had worked with for four years had taken a break or been posted to other programs. Gary worried that the public was slowly losing interest of the show he loved dearly, but he wasn't sure if he could continue having this scripted romance.   "That can't do! We have always done our own interactions during filming. All we needed were light scripts to guide us in the right direction. If we start writing scripts and reading off them, the public will see through it." Jaesuk shook his head firmly against the idea.    "Monday couple has always been natural, that's why the public love them. Also, we shouldn't make hyung and noona force out interactions just for ratings!" Kwangsoo supported Jaesuk, and soon the other members were nodding in agreement.   As if his thoughts were being broadcasted to his fellow members, they all spoke up against the PD's idea. He could never get over the cast's family-like relationship, especially during moments like this.   "Besides, we have international fans who love to watch the show. Just because the ratings aren't as high as it used to be, it doesn't mean that the show is losing its touch." Suk Jin added, but they all knew that he doubted it. Trends in Korea were unpredictable. One moment it could be popular, and the next moment people could get tired of it and move on to another trend. What if Running Man had hit its peak and the nation was done with it?   "We could try changing the time slot of the show, so that we won't have tough competition with the other broadcasting channels." Jongkook suggested.   "That's tough to rearrange now, because SBS has already moved Roommate to the Tuesday time slot. Without Running Man on Sunday, SBS will be in serious trouble." The PD immediately turned down his suggestion.   Gary snuck a peak at Jihyo, letting them throw suggestions across the table. She was whispering into Kwangsoo's ear, her face scrunched up in an adorable frown. It was a rather cute sight, for the giraffe had to bend down lower for her to reach his ears comfortably.    He was brought back to the conversation when he felt a stinging sensation on his left shoulder. He winced, turning towards Jong Kook. "Hyung control your strength, I almost died there!" He hissed and on his right, Donghoon was sniggering.    "Whoops sorry Gary, but Jaesuk hyung just asked for your suggestion and all you did was stare at Jihyo." Jong Kook joked, and immediately Gary went red.    Jihyo looked over at the mention of her name, but she and Kwangsoo had missed the conversation, apparent from their classic mong faces.    Now that everyone was staring at him, Gary got a little self-conscious. "Maybe we could bring back some of the old concepts? Or show more cast interaction?" He suggested on the spot.   The room went silent, and he knew that everyone thought little of his idea. Then Jongkook slapped him on the back (lighter this time, but it still hurt), nodding in agreement. "I thought you weren't paying much attention, but that's actually a great idea!"   "We can handle cast interactions, no problem." Suk Jin added much confidently then before, agreeing with his idea.    "Old concepts like spy missions and one against nine challenges? We'll try to use those ideas." The PD gave his own nod of approval. "Anything to add? If not, we can end this meeting now, and try using Gary's suggestion."    For the first t